I made exactly the same complaints over on Nick Cohen's Substack. Where is the scrutiny?
The BBC and other media channels 20 years ago would invite a minister on to talk about X and ambush them with Y. Farage comes on, spouts inflammatory bile and then the host thanks him and moves on. How about a Paxman inquisition of his admitting for Putin or his RT appearances as a follow up?
I watched the clip several times yesterday and had exactly the same thought - why isn't the MSM in the UK saying the same thing? Of course, it's a rhetorical question; you have to follow the money. Sam Bright's superb post yesterday about Deform's donors, all of them shady, was chilling. Anyway. Brilliant post, as ever, dear Bear. ❤️
🐻 It was a joy to watch Mr Ruskin annihilate Farage and not allow him to deflect and change the subject, but he again spouted lies regarding the banning of journalists and blamed others.
Absolutely. And the grifter is MY MP (not that I voted for him of course!) - and I don't think he's even contactable. My husband attempted to send him an email a couple of months back, and it got bounced back two weeks later. NF lied about being advised not to hold in-person surgeries and unless it's changed in the last few weeks, he's not even got a functioning email address his constituents can use to contact him.
Seeing is different from reading and comprehending. It worries me intensely that far too many of the electorate across the country have lost the art of the latter. They like to "see" their "hero/leader/dictator" and "hear" them say something "migrant/illegal/flag/patriot". But to actually digest and then ponder? I fear that art has been lost to many.
Jamie Raskin was majestic & his scathing comments to Farage saw him reduced to dust. Farage was utterly blindsided but knowingly ran into the lions den. Journalists & politicians have a template now. It’s a shame that it’s taken so long to happen.
This does bring out the questions about the quality of UK media and what, if anything, we can do about it. The paucity of coverage of this by MSM today ( if any) is astonishing but not surprising. We have our own Fox News and. BBC that has very few ( Victoria Derbyshire) prepared to question the would be Fuhrer
TBF, there actually was a little coverage of his roasting on the R4 midnight news, but it seemed more interested in the fact that it was a US Congress appearance then the substance of the conversation. But baby steps...
I have commented here before that the UK news media are largely interested in spectacle. Farage is not a politician. He is an entertainer operating in the realm of politics. Peddling vile views and creating an environment where deplorable people, him included, can commit grievous and harmful acts inc. setting fire to buildings and the people therein and be cheered by the worst of society.
The media are largely owned or been captured by the right wing whose interests are aligned with this of Farage and Reform.
There is a case for reforming the media landscape including the introduction of professional standards for practitioners and owners.
In the meantime Farage who has no sense of shame will continue as if yesterday didn't happen.
My comment on X about this has just topped 10K views. I'm sure yours will go higher, Bear.
What I said this morning on X is below -- and nothing that I have heard since then today has made me correct my comments. Unfortunately.
'Have I missed it, or have neither #BBCR4today nor #TimesRadio said anything at all this morning about Farage's shockingly unpatriotic appearance, and his well-deserved exposure and take-down, yesterday in the US? I have heard repeatedly about Rayner but nothing about Farage.'
I haven't seen, nor heard anything at all on fartage in USA. it is so very strange, that it was THIS day, that BBC, ITV, Sky, et al, chose to look the other way and somehow missed Raskins speech. Every other day, fagash is at the front of every news item; inflation up? Ask farridge. Heatwave? Check fartrage is OK. Pileup on the M1? Get furballs views. Every darn thing. But today? When he actually is newsworthy? Not a peep.
BBC are responding to complaints by saying they are merely following popular opinion. NO. NO. NO. They are pushing their opinion onto the gullible, the uneducated, the very people farage (and trump) desperately want on their side as they know educated people can see right through their lies.
I know who that “maybe somebody else did” Farage is referring to…It was an immigrant or a foreigner for this is exactly what lies at the core of his far right politics : Someone else is to blame for the ills of our society , preferably someone who cannot or does not have the clout or know how to defend themselves
It made my day, it's so gratifying to see Fagash taken down. It certainly gave me hope for the future that people like him won't succeed with their hate speech.
Thanks for all this additional detail and context. I have watched a fair bit of reporting from both the US and UK on Farage's trip to the US to generate Britain. You're is the most comprehensive report of them all.
I've listened to the X video clips several times last night and the whole thing today. Senator Raskin & other Democrats did an outstanding job, and if our homegrown media had any sense of responsibility & ethics they might have taken Farage to task long before now but of course they haven't.
Instead we can switch on any TV or Radio station & fully expect to have our daily dose of Farage & his representatives in the form of our piss poor News Media trot out whatever his latest slogan or gripe is & our media encouraging our democratic elected government to let Farage be their mentor
Yesterday wasn't just a spotlight on a fact we already knew which is that Nigel Farage is the emperor with no clothes but illustrated that our media have got stripped off years ago & joined him
I doubt the media will hold him to account. Shithousery is far more lucrative to them, bad news makes money, good news rarely does. He relies on plausible deniability, like any autocratic dictator, his minions give the direct orders, his defence is it wasn’t me. It’s time he and his fellow anti democratic right wing country destroyers are banged up for the rest of their lives.
I made exactly the same complaints over on Nick Cohen's Substack. Where is the scrutiny?
The BBC and other media channels 20 years ago would invite a minister on to talk about X and ambush them with Y. Farage comes on, spouts inflammatory bile and then the host thanks him and moves on. How about a Paxman inquisition of his admitting for Putin or his RT appearances as a follow up?
For god sake, get a spine, British Media!
This was needed & strongly agree with the latter..hear,hear.
I watched the clip several times yesterday and had exactly the same thought - why isn't the MSM in the UK saying the same thing? Of course, it's a rhetorical question; you have to follow the money. Sam Bright's superb post yesterday about Deform's donors, all of them shady, was chilling. Anyway. Brilliant post, as ever, dear Bear. ❤️
🐻 It was a joy to watch Mr Ruskin annihilate Farage and not allow him to deflect and change the subject, but he again spouted lies regarding the banning of journalists and blamed others.
The other issue that needs to be addressed is that if you are elected as an MP, you should do that job and not be able to swan off grifting doing other jobs and do just what you want. You are elected as an MP to represent your constituents and paid well along with very generous allowances that come from OUR taxes. In my opinion the only caveat that would be acceptable for example maybe a Doctor or other profession where you need to do certain things to maintain your professional position in order to return to that job, as you may not always be an MP. The Labour Party have such a large majority, that surely a Bill could go through Parliament setting that in place and that subject to certain conditions as I've highlighted above the job of a MP should be the only job. If you fail to do so the you should be refrained from being an MP. If you are not prepared to do that then fu©k off and do something else. We need people who are committed to the role of being a MP to represent the constituents they have been elected by, and be seen and working in those areas for the benefit of those communities.
Absolutely. And the grifter is MY MP (not that I voted for him of course!) - and I don't think he's even contactable. My husband attempted to send him an email a couple of months back, and it got bounced back two weeks later. NF lied about being advised not to hold in-person surgeries and unless it's changed in the last few weeks, he's not even got a functioning email address his constituents can use to contact him.
I do believe we need to add a new word to our lexicon:
"Raskined": to have been exposed as false, hypocritical, divisive and narcissistic.
Farage was most definitely Raskined yesterday and needs to be Raskined time and time again.
Brilliant post. I hope the Clacton electorate are seeing this
Seeing is different from reading and comprehending. It worries me intensely that far too many of the electorate across the country have lost the art of the latter. They like to "see" their "hero/leader/dictator" and "hear" them say something "migrant/illegal/flag/patriot". But to actually digest and then ponder? I fear that art has been lost to many.
Jamie Raskin was majestic & his scathing comments to Farage saw him reduced to dust. Farage was utterly blindsided but knowingly ran into the lions den. Journalists & politicians have a template now. It’s a shame that it’s taken so long to happen.
This does bring out the questions about the quality of UK media and what, if anything, we can do about it. The paucity of coverage of this by MSM today ( if any) is astonishing but not surprising. We have our own Fox News and. BBC that has very few ( Victoria Derbyshire) prepared to question the would be Fuhrer
TBF, there actually was a little coverage of his roasting on the R4 midnight news, but it seemed more interested in the fact that it was a US Congress appearance then the substance of the conversation. But baby steps...
I have commented here before that the UK news media are largely interested in spectacle. Farage is not a politician. He is an entertainer operating in the realm of politics. Peddling vile views and creating an environment where deplorable people, him included, can commit grievous and harmful acts inc. setting fire to buildings and the people therein and be cheered by the worst of society.
The media are largely owned or been captured by the right wing whose interests are aligned with this of Farage and Reform.
There is a case for reforming the media landscape including the introduction of professional standards for practitioners and owners.
In the meantime Farage who has no sense of shame will continue as if yesterday didn't happen.
"He is an entertainer operating in the realm of politics."
Much like Trump in that respect!
Absolutely. And the entertainer or clown, therefore avoids scrutiny.
Although another far more respected political leader originally also became famous as an entertainer: I'm speaking of course of Volodymyr Zelensky.
Excellent piece - long overdue for some UK politicians to really lay into Farage in the same way
Sadly, our media here - and I'm especially looking at you, BBC - has become incredibly lazy and averse to doing proper journalism. It's shameful.
My comment on X about this has just topped 10K views. I'm sure yours will go higher, Bear.
What I said this morning on X is below -- and nothing that I have heard since then today has made me correct my comments. Unfortunately.
'Have I missed it, or have neither #BBCR4today nor #TimesRadio said anything at all this morning about Farage's shockingly unpatriotic appearance, and his well-deserved exposure and take-down, yesterday in the US? I have heard repeatedly about Rayner but nothing about Farage.'
I haven't seen, nor heard anything at all on fartage in USA. it is so very strange, that it was THIS day, that BBC, ITV, Sky, et al, chose to look the other way and somehow missed Raskins speech. Every other day, fagash is at the front of every news item; inflation up? Ask farridge. Heatwave? Check fartrage is OK. Pileup on the M1? Get furballs views. Every darn thing. But today? When he actually is newsworthy? Not a peep.
BBC are responding to complaints by saying they are merely following popular opinion. NO. NO. NO. They are pushing their opinion onto the gullible, the uneducated, the very people farage (and trump) desperately want on their side as they know educated people can see right through their lies.
I know who that “maybe somebody else did” Farage is referring to…It was an immigrant or a foreigner for this is exactly what lies at the core of his far right politics : Someone else is to blame for the ills of our society , preferably someone who cannot or does not have the clout or know how to defend themselves
It made my day, it's so gratifying to see Fagash taken down. It certainly gave me hope for the future that people like him won't succeed with their hate speech.
Thanks for all this additional detail and context. I have watched a fair bit of reporting from both the US and UK on Farage's trip to the US to generate Britain. You're is the most comprehensive report of them all.
Sorry, I meant to say denigrate not generate.
I've listened to the X video clips several times last night and the whole thing today. Senator Raskin & other Democrats did an outstanding job, and if our homegrown media had any sense of responsibility & ethics they might have taken Farage to task long before now but of course they haven't.
Instead we can switch on any TV or Radio station & fully expect to have our daily dose of Farage & his representatives in the form of our piss poor News Media trot out whatever his latest slogan or gripe is & our media encouraging our democratic elected government to let Farage be their mentor
Yesterday wasn't just a spotlight on a fact we already knew which is that Nigel Farage is the emperor with no clothes but illustrated that our media have got stripped off years ago & joined him
They were all laid bare by this Senator
Jamie Raskin for PM.
I doubt the media will hold him to account. Shithousery is far more lucrative to them, bad news makes money, good news rarely does. He relies on plausible deniability, like any autocratic dictator, his minions give the direct orders, his defence is it wasn’t me. It’s time he and his fellow anti democratic right wing country destroyers are banged up for the rest of their lives.